My year 9s are currently in the process of choosing their GCSE options, and something that really winds me up is this opinion that if they take Drama they won’t get a job. I have this one student who is so talented, who clearly enjoys Drama and would be a fantastic candidate for GCSE. At parents’ evening I asked her if she was going to take Drama, expecting her to say yes. Instead, she hesitated before saying, “the thing is Miss… what jobs can I get with Drama?” Her Dad nodded in agreement and looked at me for an answer. Since Covid, our parents’ evenings have been online and the website we use cuts the video call off after 5 minutes, so I gave a rushed 10 second answer before the appointment ended. Now that’s another talented child who’ll miss out on what she loves due to a ridiculous belief that if she takes Drama for GCSE, she won’t have a career. I didn’t have time to give an answer during that parents’ evening, so here it is.
Nothing...
GCSE Drama won’t get you a job. Not the kind of job people who ask this question are looking for anyway. In fact, you won’t get that kind of job with any single GCSE. You need a whole load of GCSEs and then A levels or B-techs, and then most jobs today require a degree or an apprenticeship or similar on top of that. GCSEs are just a stepping stone to A levels or whatever next step it is you choose. Many decent colleges or sixth forms have entry requirements that stipulate what grades you need in order to study there. However, I have never ever heard of any college or sixth form say “you’re not welcome here if you took Drama.” Furthermore, when you do eventually have your A levels and your degree and you go for your graduate job, they’re most likely not even going to look at your GCSEs. On the rare occasions that they do, they’re not going to suddenly dismiss you because you took Drama. “I’m so sorry Miss Brown, despite your A*s in A level science, your first class degree and 5 years of training at medical school, we can’t give you a job as a doctor because I can see here you chose Drama as a GCSE when you were 14? I hear they’re holding auditions for the touring cast of Annie, perhaps you could try there instead?” Ridiculous.
A levels are a little different. Not loads, but a bit. If you have a career path in mind then you might need to take subjects that are relevant to that. Some university courses require specific grades from specific subjects at A level, so, obviously, it’s worth doing some research and prioritising those subjects. Having said that, taking Drama isn’t going to get in the way of whatever it is you want to do. To be clear, you won’t be turned away from a university or a job because you took Drama, but you might be turned away if you didn’t take what you needed to for the particular course you had in mind. If you love Drama and you’re good at it, take it forward! I’ll say it again for the people at the back. Taking Drama is not going to stop you from getting whatever job it is you want!
So, why do so many people still believe this misconception? Where did it come from? Well, this is what I think...
In the Olden Days
When my parents were children, there was no such thing as mobile phones. TV was incredibly limited, there were only 5 or so channels and there was nothing on during the day time. Drama didn’t exist in schools because there was no need for it. When Drama eventually was introduced, the teachers were untrained and the lessons were crap. People didn’t see the point in it because no one really learned anything and the chances of scoring a role in a film and becoming an actor were laughable. The children enjoyed getting up out of their chairs for an hour, but there was no structure and there weren’t exams. It was fun, and it wasn’t real work, and it was easy, and that was the general opinion.
Since then, the entertainment industry has absolutely exploded. Not only do we have 24 hour TV with access to hundreds of channels, we have TV on demand, Netflix, Disney Plus, we have more movies than anyone could have even imagined, we have a radio station for everyone whether you like music, politics or sport. The invention of Youtube meant anyone could create their own content, and they did. Social media was introduced and even more people were posting their own videos daily on Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, the list goes on and on. Not only this but we have access to all of this whenever, wherever we want. TVs, Desktops, Laptops, Smartphones, iPads. We are addicted to entertainment, and it is an enormous part of our world and our lives. There are hundreds of jobs out there today that didn’t exist 20 years ago, and that list is growing year upon year. Drama teachers today are usually specialists who are highly trained, and as a result, the lessons are effectively helping to develop students’ confidence, creativity and teamwork skills. Suddenly, this subject that once was a bit of fun, if not slightly irrelevant, is an absolute necessity. When I look at the GCSE that I teach today, I’m amazed at how much the course has changed and developed even since I was at school 11 or so years ago. Unfortunately, Grandma with her Nokia brick who didn’t do Drama at school is continuing to preach her opinions on it, and it’s filtering down to the younger generations. Society’s opinion on Drama is just about the only thing that hasn’t changed. Us Drama teachers are working on that, but it’s a battle.
Parents: Stop teaching your children that Drama is “soft” or unimportant. If your child wants to take Drama GCSE, encourage them! At best, they could be successful and earn a decent wage doing something they absolutely love. At worst, they’ll have some good memories and they won’t totally freak out when they need to do a presentation in their business analyst job at 25.
Students: If you enjoy Drama, and you want to take it for GCSE, GO FOR IT! You won’t regret it! On the flip side- if you’re thinking of taking Drama because you want an easy option, it’s probably not a good choice for you. There aren’t really any “easy” GCSEs these days, so pick something you enjoy and be prepared to put the work in.
Comments